68 chapter two
which should all be used in moderation. These are food, clothing,
shelter, marriage, and some added, religion. Muslims are ordained
to spend in moderation; they should be generous, but not extrava-
gant, to themselves, their families and dependents. As said previ-
ously, moderation does not mean niggardliness and the prohibition
of extravagance does not imply miserliness, the Qur"àn ordains nei-
ther, (Qur"àn 7:31, 17:29).
The principle of moderation applies to spending on consumable
goods and services and spending on charity, on the one hand, and
to the relationship between spending and saving, on the other. It
necessitates maintaining balanced relationships among these types of
economic decisions.
First, spending on consumable goods and services.Classical jurists divided
the levels of consumption into three main levels: necessities, conve-
niences, and refinements (Imam al-Shàtibì, n.d., Zarqa, 1980). Neces-
sities are goods and services that are essential to survival as they
sustain the fundamental principles of life; conveniences are less vital
for survival but are still basics, while refinements are the goods and
services that are beyond the level of convenience of what makes life
more comfortable and enjoyable. The first level is classified by clas-
sical jurists as including: food, shelter, religion, mind, and marriage
(ibid.), which covers the basic physio-sociological needs. The second
level of consumption covers the commodities and services which are
still counted as basic needs, though they are not (in terms of type,
quantity, and quality) as badly needed as those of the first level. The
third level, level of refinements which might include luxurious goods,
is the level that is most targeted by the constraint of the moderate
consumption. While a moderate consumption of goods and services
at this level is acceptable a further consumption beyond that level
may render the consumption extravagant.
In our modern times, the criteria that determine the level of mod-
eration may, however, be difficult to establish. What are regarded
as refinements in a society, or in a certain period of time, may be
considered as conveniences in another society, or at a different period.
Clothing, feeding, entertainment, education and spending on durable
goods are some examples. Norms, therefore, would have to be estab-
lished with the help of economic and social indicators such as the
standard of living, the level of national income, the pattern of income
distribution, the state of development and custom in differentiating
between the various levels of consumption. Subjectivity does not seem